Triceratops skeleton 'Trey' to hit the auction block as dinosaur market soars

Triceratops skeleton 'Trey' to hit the auction block as dinosaur market soars A triceratops skeleton that once greeted visitors at a Wyoming museum is heading to an online auction as dinosaur prices keep soaring By R.J. RICO Associated Press March 2, 2026, 9:02 AM A triceratops skeleton that stood in a Wyoming museum for decades will be auctioned off, a rare instance of a museum-exhibited dinosaur going to the auction block just as the market for the prehistoric giants has hit record highs . The fossil, dubbed “Trey,” will be open for bidding from March 17 to 31 on Joopiter, an online auction platform founded by Grammy-winning artist and producer Pharrell Williams. It has a preauction estimate of $4.5 million to $5.5 million. Dating back more than 66 million years to the late Cretaceous period, Trey was discovered near Lusk, Wyoming, in 1993 by Lee Campbell and the late Allen Graffham, a commercial paleontologist who made numerous significant finds over his lifetime. The 17-foot-long (5.3-meter-long) herbivore greeted visitors at the 1995 grand opening of the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis, and remained there on loan until 2023. Having been recently sold in a private transaction, it is now in Singapore, where it is available for private viewings through the end of March, Joopiter said. Trey “has this cultural aspect that a lot of fossils that go to auction these days just simply don’t have,” said paleontologist Andre LuJan, who worked with Joopiter to prepare the fossil for auction. “This one is connected to people and undoubtedly has inspired young children who’ve seen it to pursue a career in paleontology.” Once the domain of museums and universities, dinosaur fossils have become increasingly popular investments. In 2024, the remains of “Apex” the stegosaurus went for $44.6 million at auction, shattering the previous record of $31.8 million paid in 2020 for “Stan,” a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. In a sign that the dinosaur fossil market remains strong, a ra...